About the Opera

Sierva Maria (Allison Bell) and Father Caytano Delaura (Nathan Gunn) in the 2008 Festival production of Love and Other Demons. c. Mike Hoban

Love and Other Demons is a story of forbidden love set in the tropical and magical world of 18th century Colombia, adapted from the novella by Nobel-prizewinner, Gabriel García Márquez.

One Sunday in the slave market in the port of Cartagena de Indias, a young girl is bitten by a dog. The girl is Sierva Maria of All The Angels, the daughter of the Marquis, and the dog is rabid. Although Sierva herself seems unhurt, this is a town where reason and superstition are at war, and soon the talk is not of rabies, but possession. Sierva finds herself imprisoned in the Convent of St Clare, where Cayetano Delaura, the bishop's exorcist, comes to drive out her demons. But soon it is Delaura himself who is possessed, consumed by Love, ‘the most terrible demon of all'. As the lovers' obsession grows, so too does the desire of the authorities to purge this sickness from their midst. Read full Synopsis.

Peter Eötvös is one of the most widely commissioned opera composers in Europe. His operas, which include The Three Sisters, Le Balcon and Angels in America, are amongst the most frequently performed in the contemporary repertoire. This Glyndebourne commission is the first major production of any of his operas in the UK. Read a biography of Peter Eötvös.

Music Director Vladimir Jurowski conducts the London Philharmonic with soprano Allison Bell making her Glyndebourne debut in the role of Sierva, and Baritone Nathan Gunn as Father Delaura. See full details about Creative Team and Cast Members. 

Love and Other Demons is a co-commission between Glyndebourne and the BBC.